If you’re looking for a decent read to ease you through the lockdown may we point you to a new music book – ‘OUR SOUL MUSIC JOURNEY’ by JOHN WARREN.
John is an Australian soul fanatic and sometime DJ, and he tells us: “’Our Soul Music Journey’ is a collection of personal stories from a variety of performers, producers, artists, collectors and people who simply love the honesty, vibe and power of soul music. These are personal stories of how soul music – particularly Northern Soul – has shaped and affected their lives”.
Being dyslexic made John’s task a tough one, but he was determined to get his thoughts down on paper especially to highlight the fact that a lot of soul music artists, especially in the USA find it difficult to survive and John is keen to make sure those artists who have given so much pleasure get some due reward.
He says: “Over the last couple of decades too many artists died in impoverished conditions, many in ill health and never realizing the impact their music had on die-hard soul fans. Often struggling in the twilight of their years and sometimes wondering if their efforts amounted to anything. This has long bothered many soul fans and while their recordings can change for small fortunes they seldom see and returns. Numerous fans have discussed over the years the ability to dignify and somehow help the artists they’ve admired when realizing how desperate some artists have become.” So ‘Our Soul Music Journey’ is a series of stories that both show the influence the artists’ music has had and an attempt to help with the artist’s individual circumstances. John has vowed to donate a portion of the funds collected from the sale of the book to be given to the selected artists.
Featuring 24 stories and self-published, ‘Our Soul Music Journey’ should prove a fascinating read for soul collectors in general and Northern fans in particular. It’s available now via Amazon.
